The prestigious annual Rose D'Or Awards (now in their 55th year) honour the very best of international radio, TV and online entertainment programmes, and the awards ceremony took place last night (Tuesday, September 13th 2016). Over 400 programmes from more than 130 broadcasters and production companies in 33 different countries were submitted for this year’s Rose d’Or awards. For the first time, a new competition category, 'Radio Event Of The Year' was created. We entered European Dawn Chorus in this category, and we're absolutely delighted to let you know that ... drumroll... WE WON!!! We're absolutely thrilled to pieces, and a massive thanks to all our EBU and BirdLife International partners, we couldn't have done it without you! Click here to read more about the 2016 Rose D'Or awards (in which legendary funnyman John Cleese picked up the Lifetime Achievement award), and click here to relive - and re-listen to - all the beautiful Dawn Chorus birdsong from right across Europe.

***STOP PRESS*** Dawn Chorus Picks Up Another Award!

We're thrilled to let you know that on Friday, October 7th, the Dawn Chorus won the Innovation Award at the PPI Radio Awards in Kilkenny!

On Mooney today...

Radio GAGA starts today, when we give you the chance to win money and a weekend away at the Radisson Blu Farnham Estate in Cavan! We hear how supermarkets have reduced the size of many of our favourite products without reducing prices, and talk to Conor Pope about his Dragon's Den experience.

Terry Flanagan learns about singing circles, Mary Kingston finds out about Mountmellick’s Quaker heritage, we hear about environmental issues affecting Guatemala, and three players take part in our general knowledge Mooney's Monday Quiz!

Radio GAGA

We’re going gaga on Mooney for the month of August!

We’re giving away cash and prizes with a value of over €30,000!

Each of our daily winners from Monday to Friday will win €500 PLUS a weekend break for two at the Radisson Blu Farnham Estate golf and spa resort in Co. Cavan, including breakfast on both mornings and dinner on one evening.

And there’s more!

Our daily winners will play our new Radio Gaga game each Friday, for a chance to share in an additional jackpot prize of €5000!

The competition runs from Monday August 5th until Friday, August 30th.

Bank Holiday Monday, August 5th:

To enter, all you have to do is answer this simple question:

Which British rock band had a hit with Radio Gaga?

If you think you know the answer, text the word MOONEY, followed by your name and answer, to 57111, or call the competition line on 1515 71 72 00. Texts cost €1 or £1. Eircom network calls cost €1.02, and other networks cost more. All entrants must be over 18 as at date of entry.

Competition lines open from 2pm and will close at 4.20pm today, (DATE). Please do not enter outside of the advertised competition window as you will be charged for your entry, but your entry will not be included. From time to time, these open/close times may vary. Any change to the standard open/close times will be announced here and on the show. The cash prize winner will be announced on-air towards the end of the Mooney show each day.

Please do not enter outside the advertised competition open and close times and date(s) as you will be charged, but your entry will not be included in the draw. Please do not enter during programme replays on the RTÉ Radio Player after the advertised close time and date as you will be charged for your entry, but your entry will not be included as the competition will have closed.

Entrants must be aged 18 years or older as at date of entry and a resident of the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland in order to qualify as the prize winner.

Promoter reserves the right to request proof of age, verifiable by birth cert or passport only, and proof of residency, verifiable by recent utility bill only (issued within 6 months of win).

By entering the competition, the participants agree to be bound by the terms and conditions; that their surname and county of residence may be announced on-air if they win a prize; and agree to have their details/image/winner sequence used for promotional purposes if required.

Employees of RTÉ, Phonovation, Xiam Interactive and their associated partners, companies or suppliers and their immediate family members are not eligible to win/enter.

RTÉ's decision in relation to selection of winner is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

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Dublin Bus Strike & The Army

During today's show, Derek chats about the Dublin Bus strike and how, in the seventies, when a similar strike took place, the Army stepped in to provide transport for commuters. One of our listeners, Patrick, got in touch via Twitter to share this following link with us, showing RTÉ Archive footage of the 1979 strike and Army trucks:

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Celebrity MasterChef Ireland

On last night's Celebrity MasterChef Ireland, it was consumer champion Conor Pope who hung up his apron and left the kitchen, after his Prosecco and Crème de Cassis-Poached Pears with Lavender, and Blackberries Crème Anglaise and Shortbread, did not impress judge Dylan McGrath.

Conor joins Derek live in studio this afternoon to tell us more about his Celebrity MasterChef Ireland experience!

To find out more, read this RTÉ Ten interview with Conor on his departure, or if you missed the programme last night, you can watch it back on the RTÉ Player by clicking here.

Celebrity MasterChef Ireland continues next Sunday on RTÉ One at 21:30 - to visit the website for the series, click here.

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Supermarket Product Changes

What does the Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate bar, Imperial Leather soap and Bird’s Eye burgers all have in common?

There are among hundreds of common supermarket products that have prices that have stayed the same while the product gets smaller...

Pricewatch journalist Conor Pope is in studio today to talk to us about how, over the past twelve months, hundreds of things commonly found on Irish supermarket shelves have been quietly made smaller by manufacturers anxious to maintain their profit margins...

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Mountmellick Exhibition Of Quaker Tapestry

A new exhibition in Mountmellick in Co. Laois, featuring Quaker Tapestry, chronicles an amazing social history.

The detailed colourful embroidery made by over 4,000 men, women and children tells the story of the beliefs and influences of the Quaker people over 350 years.

Reporter Mary Kingston went to take a look...

The Exhibition of Quaker Tapestry runs from 27th Jul 2013 - 10th Aug 2013, and from 10.00am - 5.00pm daily. The last tour is at 4pm. Admission costs €5.00 (a group discount is available). Tours will last approx. 1 hr, & include a audio visual and guided tour of display pieces. For more information, click here.

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Hedgerows: It is an offence to 'cut, grub, burn or otherwise destroy hedgerows on uncultivated land during the nesting season from 1 March to 31 August, subject to certain exceptions'. For more information, click here.

UPDATE: February 29th 2016 - Press Release From BirdWatch Ireland:

Putting the record straight: Dates for burning and hedge-cutting have NOT changed

BirdWatch Ireland, Ireland’s largest conservation charity, is very concerned about misinformation that is currently circulating regarding the dates within which the burning of vegetation and cutting of hedges is permitted. It would like to remind landowners that all burning and cutting must cease on 29th February this year and that burning and cutting remains prohibited from 1st March to 31st August.

Despite attempts by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys T.D., to change the laws regulating these dates by introducing the Heritage Bill 2016 earlier this year, it is important to note that the proposed date changes were ultimately NOT made. This is because the bill failed to pass through both houses of the Oireachtas before the recent dissolution of the Dáil in advance of the general election.

The laws in place governing the dates for hedge-cutting and upland burning therefore remain unchanged. The period within which cutting and burning is prohibited are set down in Section 40 of the Wildlife Act 1976 (as amended in 2000), which states that:

(a) It shall be an offence for a person to cut, grub, burn or otherwise destroy, during the period beginning on the 1st day of March and ending on the 31st day of August in any year, any vegetation growing on any land not then cultivated.
(b) It shall be an offence for a person to cut, grub, burn or otherwise destroy any vegetation growing in any hedge or ditch during the period mentioned in paragraph (a) of this subsection (above).

The existing law provides exemptions for road safety and other circumstances and should be read carefully to ensure compliance.

Section 40 of the Wildlife Act exists to protect nesting birds. Many of our upland bird species are in decline and are in danger of extinction in Ireland; amongst them is the Curlew, which has declined by 80%. Many birds which nest in hedgerows into August are also in serious decline, including the endangered Yellowhammer. The changes to the cutting and burning dates which had been proposed in the now-defunct Heritage Bill 2016 would have caused serious impacts to these birds. A petition launched by BirdWatch Ireland in conjunction with several other national conservation organisations to stop these changes attracted more than 16,200 signatures and rising.

BirdWatch Ireland would also like to advise members of the public that if they see hedges being cut or fires in the uplands on or after 1st March, such activity could be illegal. In such cases, we would encourage people to contact the National Parks and Wildlife Service (www.npws.ie) to report such activity.

BirdWatch Ireland warmly welcomes the demise of the Heritage Bill 2016 and sincerely hopes that any future administration will consider the importance of Ireland’s natural heritage and will not attempt to reintroduce such a flawed and damaging piece of legislation.

RTÉ.ie is the website of Raidió Teilifís Éireann, Ireland's National Public Service Broadcaster.RTÉ is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. Images courtesy of Inpho.ie and Getty Images.